I-40 midway between Essex and Needles, take the Water Rd exit. Head south into the desert on the road that follows the power lines for 24 miles. Turn right onto E. Mojave Heritage Trail for 4 miles, then continue on Sunflower Springs Spur for a little over a mile. Look for the cabin. The large rock with the inscription is a quarter-mile southeast of the cabin. Remember: This is a desert and these are unimproved roads. Be prepared to survive an emergency if you are crazy enough to go.

I just read your story on the Peg Leg Smith Monument. My wife's Dad had a cabin in the California desert in Sunflower Springs. There is a large rock about 1/4 mile from the cabin. Carved on the face of it is the inscription: "Peg Leg Smith Zalias, Springs 1854."

Peg Leg Smith had wandered into Warner Springs in late 1854 with gold nuggets the size of a fist in the saddle bags on his horse. He told those who found him suffering from dehydration that he found the gold nuggets in the Old Woman Mountains near Essex. He also told them that he had carved his name on a rock where he could see the location of his gold looking away from the rock. The gold was where you could see three buttes looking away from the rock and it was just laying on top of the ground. No one believed him because no one had ever found gold nuggets in The Old Woman Mountains. The statue of the Old Woman for whom the mountain range is named can also be seen from this inscription. The rock is located southeast of the cabin and the letters are about 5-6 feet tall.

If this information leads you to the lost gold I want my share of the findings.